How to Calm Bar Exam Stress

I recently read about a very interesting technique for reducing stress and anxiety.

This technique is especially useful for situations where your mind is spinning out of control and making you increasingly anxious about a future event.

Since many people get themselves worked up about the possibility of failing the bar exam (and I was no exception), I thought it would be useful to share this technique with you.

The technique is really quite simple and involves asking yourself four questions and then performing a “turnaround.”

Using the Technique

So, you feel yourself getting worked up about something. In this case, let’s say you are in a panic about the bar exam and whether you will be able to pass.

As soon as you realize that you are feeling stressed out, just go through the list of questions.

The questions to ask yourself are:

Is the thought true?
Am I absolutely sure that it’s true?
How do I feel when I think the thought?
Who would I be without the thought?

The idea is that by asking these questions and answering them honestly, you will create doubt that your worry is true. By creating this doubt, you will realize that the worry is not something worth spending mental energy on, and it will dissipate.

Then, you do what is called the “turnaround” and reframe your worry to become a positive outcome. You also support that positive outcome with three reasons.

So, in the case of the bar exam, you might have something like this:

Thought: I know I am going to fail the bar exam.

1. Is the thought true?

It sure seems true. I keep making mistakes and forgetting things. This sucks.

2. Am I absolutely sure it’s true?

Well, no. I still have a few weeks to study, so maybe I could learn enough to pass. Still, it is a worry.

3. How do I feel when I think the thought?

Scared, depressed. Worried what other people will think of me. What will I do to pay the bills?

4. Who would I be without the thought?

I would be confident and happy. I’d be willing to put in as much effort as needed to study because I would know that it would all work out well in the end.

Now, do the Turnaround:

I will pass the bar exam because